LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Public needs good budget analysis

Your June 9 editorial “Capital chaos” and related news articles do little to analyze the City of Toledo’s financial mess. You mention the city’s borrowing of money from the capital improvement fund. Your editorial said the transfer was to help pay salaries for police officers and firefighters.

How do the costs of Toledo’s police and fire departments compare with those of other Ohio cities? How do other cities make ends meet?

The Blade has freedom of the press but fails to use it, to the detriment of the citizens of Toledo.

Your June 1 article on Eric Savage and his low-paying job in India (“Toledo native finds career lucrative in more than money; Eric Savage ditches Wall Street for setting up bank in India” did not mention that to take a 90-percent pay cut as he did, you must have resources such as family wealth or money set aside from an earlier high-paying job. It would be much harder for a person with fewer financial resources to make that leap.

Many executives such as Mr. Savage put in long, hard hours — likely missing many family events — to get high-paying jobs. Many other people would not be willing to make that sacrifice. There is a personal cost associated with making it to the highest rungs of the corporate ladder.

ERIC HORVATH

Martin, Ohio

Gas prices high, but be smart, save

When I see several cars waiting in the drive-through line of a fast-food restaurant or a bank — all with their engines running and burning fuel — I see that gasoline prices are still not high enough for Americans to change their driving habits (“High cost of gas cuts into activity,” Readers’ Forum, June 5).

To save money, boost a vehicle’s mileage, and decrease air pollution, motorists should park their cars and walk into the bank or restaurant. The driver gets a little bit of exercise and decreases sedentary time.

If a driver has small children in the car or has impaired mobility, drive-through services can be a real convenience. For most people, however, parking the car and turning off the engine will save time and money.